Quote:
Originally Posted by timun
^^^Exactly! I've heard this common refrain that the NDP somehow ####ed rural Albertans over and I have never, ever read or heard an actual explanation as to how.
Not that I don't believe a lot of rural voters believe that the NDP ####ed them—I've written multiple times in this thread that I think pretty much every rural riding in the province is the UCP's to lose because the voter base is so vehemently against the NDP—but not one rural voter has ever articulated in precisely what way they got ####ed by the NDP government.
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I think a lot rural farming people and those connected to those communities felt it was a significant overreach of government in their day to day lives and how they run their farm/business. The NDP has indicated that a lot of those policies were not the most thought-out from a pragmatic perspective but the intension was overall good.
The truth lied somewhere in the middle most likely, some improvements may have been needed but a lot of the rules regarding overtime compensation, equipment, licensing etc were overdone.
Rural people are not going to take lightly to some policy wonk in any political party preaching safety from the safety of their laptop/office.
Being told that their 15 year old kid or nephew needs licensing to ride a tractor or an ATV or operate another piece of equipment doesn't bode well.